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Stained-glass windows have been admired for their utility and beauty since ancient Rome, when pieces of colored glass were assembled into patterned window frames. In Europe, the art of stained glass reached its height between 1150 and 1500, when magnificent windows were created for the great  Gothic cathedrals.

Most of what is known about medieval stained-glass making comes from a twelfth-century German monk who called himself Theophilus. An artist and metalworker himself, Theophilus described in his text,On Diverse Arts, how he carefully studied glaziers and glass painters at work in order to provide detailed directions for creating windows of “inestimable beauty.”

The basic ingredients for making glass are sand and wood ash (potash). The mixture is melted into liquid which, when cooled, becomes glass. To color the glass, certain powdered metals are added to the mixture while the glass is still molten. Molten glass can be blown into a sausage shape, then slit on the side before being flattened into a sheet; it can also be spun with a pontil iron into a round sheet (crown). A window’s pictorial image is created by arranging the different pieces of colored glass over the design drawn on a piece of board. If fine details such as shadows or outlines are required, the artist paints them on the glass with black paint.

To assemble the window, pieces of colored and painted glass are laid out on the design board, with the edges of each piece fitted into H-shaped strips of lead (cames). These cames are soldered to one another so that the panel is secure. When a panel is completed, putty is inserted between the glass and the lead cames for waterproofing. The entire composition is then stabilized with an iron frame (armature) and mounted in the window.

Citation Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters. “Stained Glass in Medieval Europe”. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/glas/hd_glas.htm (October 2001)  Further Reading Brown, Sarah, and David O’Connor. Glass-Painters. London: British Museum Press, 1991. Hayward, Jane. English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Harvey Miller Publishers and Metropolitan Museum of Art for American Corpus Vitrearum, Inc., 2003. Raguin, Virginia Chieffo. Stained Glass: From Its Origins to the Present. New York: Abrams, 2003. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions) Choirs of Angels: Painting in Italian Choir Books, 1300–1500 Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages Renovation of Late Gothic Hall, The Cloisters

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Carboni, Stefano, et al. “Ars Vitraria: Glass in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 59, no. 1 (Summer, 2001). JSTOR  | PDFs Lillich, Meredith P. “The Arms of Coucy in Thirteenth-Century Stained Glass.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vols. 19–20 (1984–85). JSTOR  | PDF Papanicolaou, Linda Morey. “Stained Glass from the Cathedral of Tours: The Impact of the Sainte-Chapelle in the 1240s.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 15 (1980). JSTOR  | PDF Hayward, Jane, and Thomas Hoving. “Stained-Glass Windows.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 30, no. 3 (December, 1971–January, 1972). JSTOR  | PDFs Hayward, Jane. “Medieval Stained Glass from St. Leonhard in Lavanttal at the Cloisters.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 28, no. 6 (February, 1970). JSTOR  | PDF Hayward, Jane. “Stained-Glass Windows from the Carmelite Church at Boppard-am Rhein: A Recontruction of the Glazing Program of the North Nave.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 2 (1969) JSTOR  | PDF

Source:Stained Glass in Medieval Europe | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I was the co-chairman of the Ohio  Kennedy-Johnson campaign committee. I accompanied JFK on his campaign tour through Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. He was greeted by huge crowds with many woman trying to grab a piece of his clothing as a souvenir. JFK’S blue eyes and smile drove them crazy. We stopped in Columbus for dinner, and a hotel stay. John Kennedy was in great spirits and enjoyed the tour very much. His advance man was a prominent Washington attorney,  Jack Lanahan, who was married to Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s daughter. Jack and I had planned this trip. We had much larger crowds then we ever dreamed we would have. The next morning JFK left for Miami to speak to the American Legion convention. Kennedy’s mother and sisters spent much time campaigning throughout Ohio. When Rose Kennedy came Ohio, we are able to borrow a funeral limousine to drive her to her campaign stops. JFK’s mother was tiny.While we were driving from place to place, she would lie down on the backseat, and sleep peaceably. His sisters were dynamic, especially Eunice Shriver. She was fun to be with and an inspirational speaker.

We were excited about winning Ohio.. A few days before the election, JFK asked all the key campaign people from all over the country to come to New York City. Right before the meeting, the east and the mid-west had a record setting blizzard. This did not stop anybody from attending.  Most of us arrived by train. While there, I heard Jackie Kennedy give a terrific talk in Spanish Harlem.  She delivered the complete talk in Spanish and the crowd went berserk. I was among the youngest at this final campaign event. I was agog meeting prominent Americans I admired and had only read about. For example, the Mayor of Philadelphia and the US Senator from Pennsylvania who was one of my heros.

The climax was after the largest voter  turnout in Ohio’s history, Nixon carried the state. JFK said “nowhere did I receive such a tumultuous reception, but less votes”

I recently read the  then Ohio Governor, Mike DiSalle, oral statement in the Kennedy Library about this election.  Governor Mike was an early backer of John Kennedy. He did everything he could to help JFK win Ohio. Many of JFK’s backers blamed the Governor for losing this pivotal state. Mike DiSalle said he fully accepts the responsibility for the loss.

After the election I was shocked by the loss. I studied the election results. In all of the Democratic strongholds, the local candidates run way ahead of JFK. In FDR’s elections, he always ran way ahead of the local candidates. I remember one area in particular, the Akron-Canton area. This was a large industrial area that was strongly Democratic. JFK ran behind the local ticket here by more votes than he lost the state by. I called the local party leaders to find out why. They were sick over this loss of votes for JFK. I asked what happened? The results of interviews they had conducted showed that many former residents of Appalachia would not vote for a Catholic for President.

Cincinnati was a strong Republican area with close to a 50% Catholic population. I thought that could be fertile ground for us. JFK had appeared in Houston before the National Baptist Convention. John Kennedy was asked if he would be loyal to the Pope? Would side with the Pope against his countries interests? And on and on . Regardless of how ridiculous the question was, JFK gave a forthright answer ignoring the obvious prejudices of the person asking the question.

I thought this showing of prejudice might get us some votes for us in Cincinnati. We spent a major portion of our budget playing this Houston Baptist tape  over and over again on local TV stations.

We lost Hamilton County(Cincinnati) . Again, I asked the local campaign folks, why? They said that many of the Hamilton County Catholics were German. That in WWI when President  Wilson, a democrat, declared war on Germany, these German Catholics declared war on the Democratic Party. Who what the answer was?

The good news is that Ohio has changed. Obama carried Ohio in 2008.

Politics is strange-

Yesterday, the stock market lost over a Trillion dollars. Despite unemployment being high, this debacle took place amidst increasing Wall Street predictions of  great increases in the value of the stock market. . No wonder consumers are reluctant to buy real estate  and employers are reluctant to begin hiring new employees. These events scare folks and make them very cautious.  How many times will it take for Wall Street to continue to deceive Main Street before investors look elsewhere to invest their hard earned funds?

There are great opportunities to invest in real estate today. I have seen many wonderful real estate investments offering an annual Internal Rate of Return of 20% or higher go without funding. Banks, insurance companies and pension funds insist on only investing in the stock market. Now with their  most recent investment history showing horrible performances, will these custodians of other people’s funds be forced to look elsewhere for safe investment?

Today the major investment of most Americans is in real estate- their home. When I travel looking at real estate, I have seen many buildings built over 800 years ago, still producing income for their investors. Because the population continues to grow, and very little real estate development has taken place for over three years, these great real estate opportunities exist.

I attended a gathering this morning of old friends, most where shocked by the losses to their stock portfolios. Most said they were seeking investments outside of the stock market.  I wrote a recent blog about what Warren Buffett said that the solution to our economic woes was a rebirth of construction. Buffett pointed out how increases in construction feeds many other parts of our economy. This Warren said will restore our economy.

Maybe this horrific loss in stock value will create an opportunity to turn the economy around? I sure hope so for everybody concerned about our economy.